Schloß Schönbrunn

This past Summer holiday we stayed in the Vienna area for a while and went on some (for us) unusual short trips. One of them was a visit to Schloß Schönbrunn, some of the spots you never seem to go to when you live only a short distance away, even though every visitor of Vienna would call you completely mad. So many sayings to describe that phenomenon: The grass is always greener somewhere else, you never go to the pub around the corner ..... - and you almost never visit the sights of your own capital.

So okay, this time we wanted to do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and went to explore our own city. It was a blazing hot day when we set off, there was almost not a cloud in the sky, not a single breeze cooling us down, in other words it was one of these glorious days of Summer you can hardly bear when they have arrived, but miss terribly when they are gone.

All of you know Schönbrunn Castle or at least have heard of it, the Internet is full of information, so actually there is not a lot more I can tell you. Yes, it is very impressive, especially when you come in the Summer time with all the flowers in the gardens blooming; yes, it is still our tourist attraction number one; and yes, do come when you got the chance. It is a must-see, especially for a first time in Vienna. Oh, and in case you want to know: The Emperor is not home.....

From the palace you can walk through the palace back garden straight up to the Gloriette. I just want to give you some impression of the whole place, my plan is not to lecture you on history, so let me tell you that nowadays up inside the Gloriette building there is a great little coffeehouse, where you can enjoy the view over Vienna with some Apfelstrudel or Kaiserschmarrn and a Melange.

The Neptunbrunnen is great! We spend there quite a while and took lots of pictures. It was finished shortly before the death of Empress Maria Theresia (okay, I could not hold back, it just popped out of me, sorry about that) and now is definately one of the highlights in the gardens of Schloß Schönbrunn.

Of course some posing came with it too. I love this shot because of the background - it is a little bit vague, but you can tell that there is something great in the back, the water cascading down, the monuments as if they were alive....

Our master photographer at work! Amazing how much time and effort it takes to make really good photos even of such a beautiful place, but it is definately worth it. Thanks for doing such an excellent job, hon!

This one was shot from behind the Neptunbrunnen, a place a little bit hidden. Just walk up toward the Gloriette and make a left (or a right when you come from the other side) shortly before you completely pass the fountain. There you go....

This is my favorite photo from behind, with the horse as if it was actually in motion, bending towards the castle, frozen in the middle of the jump. It has seen the end of the monarchy, and I wonder what else it will see before it decays. Maybe the sky burning to ashes when time comes to an end...

This is the view you get from up at the Gloriette. It was absolutely boiling when we were there, and we forgot to bring a bottle of water (hey, this is just Schönbrunn, so why should we bring water??), so what a bliss to find the coffeeplace.

There are many more beautiful things to see, some of them almost hidden in the huge grounds of the palace, but we had enough and strolled through the wonderfully shady alleys back to the Hitzing entrance of Schönbrunn (which is not the main entrance of the area, step off at U4 Hietzing not Schönbrunn and walk like five minutes, you cannot miss it).

This is my favorite fountain, but unfortunately I don´t know the name of it. Maybe you know? It just seems to be there as if some emperor had said, "no big deal, it is pretty, so lets keep it, but it does not need a name". But probably it has got a name - they named everything back then!

Little rose gardens everywhere, and the roses smelled beautifully. We just were a little bit too late in the year, the buds were all open and would start wilting in a short time. (Mental note: come back earlier next year.) Still it was wonderful wandering through the blooming gardens.

This is the main alley. If you step on it after you entered the Hietzing entrance of Schönbrunn you can follow it straight up to the palace. Still it is a nice, cool walk when the sun is out and the heat is on!

This is the Palmenhaus, the glasshouse of Schönbrunn, that was built sometime around 1880. I am told that it still is the third biggest on the continent. They renovate it constantly, so it is in very good shape, and I recommend visiting it if you got the time and are at least just a little bit fond of tropical plants.

Walking back to the Hietzing entrance, not on the main alley but on one of the little side lanes, you will get this view. In front another one of the gardens, the Palmenhaus would be on the left, and straight ahead of you you can see the little steeple of the church of Hietzing. This marks the one end of the grounds of Schönbrunn. We were really hot and really tired and all we could think about was that we had had a beautiful walk and that all we wanted now was to go home and jump into the pool.

But of course one must eat, right? So this is the place where you can get the best Döner and the best Dürüm anywhere around Schönbrunn Castle, right before you hop onto the tube that will take you home. I am not so sure if Sisi would have liked it though....